The United States Department of Education (DOE) has named the 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools. In Texas, a total of 31 school campuses have been named, seven of which are in North Texas.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona shared on the National Blue Ribbon website that schools were chosen based on creating welcoming and vibrant communities for all their students.
Campuses considered for the designation need to have not been awarded it in the past five years. They should also have a history of regular testing and cannot have a reputation for on-campus violence.
“As our country continues to recover from the pandemic, we know that our future will only be as strong as the education we provide to all of our children,” stated Cardona in a press release. “Blue Ribbon Schools have gone above and beyond to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs.”
North Texas schools that won the honor this year include the Diocese of Dallas’ All Saints Catholic School, Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas, the Diocese of Fort Worth’s St. John The Apostle Catholic School in North Richland Hills, Grand Prairie ISD’s Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute, and Denison ISD’s Terrell Elementary School.
In Dallas ISD, the School of Science and Engineering, and the School for the Talented and Gifted were named on the prestigious list of Blue Ribbon Schools, only two out of a total of 240 campuses with a whopping $2.1 billion budget behind them. Meanwhile, 29 of those campuses did not receive passing scores in the Texas Education Agency’s latest accountability report.
Data from the National Center for Education Statistics found that students across the nation suffered considerable learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the most significant measurable declines in decades, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Dallas ISD was hit especially hard for its part, clocking a 10% decline in students scoring “meets grade level or above” on their STAAR exams between 2019 and 2021.
The scores bounced back somewhat this year, with 41% of Dallas ISD students meeting grade level or above, but they remain below pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, almost 20% of the district’s graduating class of 2021 either dropped out or did not graduate on time.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, a poll of residents found that 49% of respondents believe the district suffers from mismanagement.
